Stephen Curry bounced back spectacularly from one of his worst shooting nights in recent memory, leading the Warriors to a 133–126 overtime victory against the Celtics on Tuesday night.
Curry scored 33 points and hit a three-pointer with 10.6 seconds remaining in overtime that was ultimately the decisive blow for Golden State. That was the exclamation point on the Warriors star shooting 6-for-11 from three-point range.
WHAT A SHOT BY STEPH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/kvuMmWrV00
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 20, 2023
“Nothing shocks me with Steph, that shot was insane. The catch-and-shoot, the arc…” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “But I fully expected it to go in, and I think all of our fans did, too. The guy’s magical. I can’t explain it. That’s just the kind of stuff he does.”
The performance was a return to normalcy for Curry who only scored seven points on Monday versus the Blazers and failed to hit a shot from behind the arc, breaking his streak of 268 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer made.
Curry scoring 20 points combined in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead his team to a win over the best team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference compelled Shaquille O’Neal to ask a big question during TNT’s postgame Inside the NBA show. Should the sharpshooter be considered the game’s best player ever?
.@SHAQ on Steph: "I'm wondering... Is it time to start putting him as the best player of all-time?" 👀 pic.twitter.com/4ORTLUyHpt
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 20, 2023
“I wonder–I’m not saying, just wondering–because he’s consistently been the best shooter his whole career,” O’Neal said. “I’m wondering, is it time to start putting him as the best player of all time?”
Shaq hedged against declaring Curry was basketball’s all-time greatest player, but said he should be in the conversation. However, O’Neal did say that Curry is better than he was.
Many fans will surely argue the point, citing Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant among several others. But Curry does belong in what will be a very spirited debate after his glorious career is finished.
